Food for Life: Let's Beat Breast Cancer

More than four decades ago, the United States declared a “war on cancer,” yet current statistics predict that during our lifetime, one in two men and one in three women will develop cancer. This amounts to 1.5 million people being diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year, and cancer causing nearly one-quarter of every death in America. Research has shown that more than one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States are due to poor diet, yet most are unaware of the connection. Faced with these startling statistics, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine developed the Food for Life: Cancer Project curriculum to offer a new direction in battling this disease. The Food for Life: Cancer Project classes include information about how certain foods and nutrients work to promote or discourage cancer growth, along with demonstrations of simple recipes that can be easily recreated at home. The intended audience of the Food for Life: Cancer Project classes are cancer survivors and their family and friends as well as those looking to prevent the disease. 

Introduction to How Foods Fight Cancer

Certain diet patterns seem to have a major effect in helping people diagnosed with cancer to live longer, healthier lives. The National Cancer Institute research shows that as much as 33 percent of cancer risk may be related to diet. In this class, you will learn about the right food choices that can help reduce the risk of developing cancer as well as prevent a recurrence.

Discovering Dairy and Meat Alternatives

When cancer researchers started to look for links between diet and cancer, one of the most noticeable findings was that people who avoided meat and dairy products were much less likely to develop the dis- ease. Consuming dairy products causes worrisome biological changes in the body, including an increase in the amount of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in the bloodstream. Scientific studies have shown elevated IGF-1 levels to be a catalyst for the growth of breast and prostate cancer cells. Meat is another food that may be linked to cancer and other illnesses. This link is in part due to the high-fat, high-iron, and fiber-free characteristics of meat compared to plant foods, as well as the formation of carcinogens when meats are cooked. These cancer-causing chemicals, called heterocyclic amines, tend to form within the meat tissue when exposed to high temperatures. In this class, you will explore a variety of vegetarian sources of protein, all of which are low in fat, high in fiber, and loaded with cancer-fighting nutrients.